Equifax breach renews calls for national data breach standards

A series of congressional hearings focused on the Equifax data breach came with a call for a national data breach notification from the head of the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

“If you are hearing my voice, you are either the victim of the breach or you know someone who is. That`s how massive this breach was,” said Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). “The criminals got basically everything they need to steal your identity, open credit card accounts in your name and cause you untold frustration and financial calamity.

Hensarling noted that Congress would but hope to avoid “impose a Washington-forced technology solution that may be antiquated as soon as it is imposed.”

“However, I do believe that we need to ensure we have a consistent national standard for both data security and breach notification in order to better protect our consumers, hold companies accountable and assure that this affair does not repeat itself,” he added, calling the Equifax breach “the most harmful failure to protect private consumer information the world has ever seen.”

During the House Financial Services Committee hearing, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) also called for an overhaul of the entire credit reporting system in response to the breach.

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Erin is an editor at Advisen. She has 15 years of journalism experience. Prior to Advisen, Erin covered property-casualty insurance for 13 years as editor-in-chief of The Standard, New England’s Insurance Weekly. Erin is based in Boston, Mass. Contact Erin at eayers@advisen.com.